


Half Baked (2011)

by JennyB



Series: Advent 2011 [4]
Category: Yami No Matsuei
Genre: Advent Challenge 2011, Established Relationship, M/M, Podfic Available, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-04
Updated: 2011-12-04
Packaged: 2018-01-05 20:10:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyB/pseuds/JennyB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Turns out, Watari is a wizard in the kitchen after all...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Half Baked (2011)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [deadcellredux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadcellredux/gifts).



> Written for Advent Challenge 2011. Prompt: Interesting ingredients for cookies; 'baking is pure science'.
> 
> Podfic (by the lovely Kansouame ♥♥) here: [Take a Listen!](http://www.mediafire.com/?frd8yhlut2c9sbm)

Watari arched a brow. "What?" he asked flatly as he looked at the petite girl standing in front of him.

Wakaba grinned even wider and shoved the flyer she held in her hand against his chest. "I said the office is having a cookie exchange for the holiday! Instead of doing a Secret Santa and exchanging presents, we're doing it with cookies! So on Friday, you have to bring in two dozen cookies, wrapped up and ready to give to your secret recipient!" She beamed at him. "And then we're having a special holiday tea. Konoe-sama said he was going to have it catered!"

Watari took the flyer and glanced down at it. "You know I don't bake," he said. "And besides, I'm not really a full-time member of the department. It's very busy down here in the lab, and--"

Wakaba giggled. "Tatsumi-san said you'd say that. He also said to tell you -- oh, where is that paper? He wrote it down for me so I'd get it exactly right..." She fished around in the pockets of her dress, and she loosed a triumphant cry when she found it. "He said, um...he said, 'Tell Watari that participation is mandatory, and if he wants to keep his job and his lab budget, he'll get his ass into a kitchen PDQ'." She gasped softly. "Oh my, he really does sound serious, doesn't he?" she remarked as she gave him a sympathetic pat on the arm. "You'll be just fine, Watari-kun. You're probably a natural at it! After all, they say that baking is a pure science. And you're the most scientifically-minded person I know!" She glanced down at her watch, and her eyes went wide. "Oh! I have to run! I told Hajime I'd make -- er, _help_ him with his recipe. Bye!"

Watari gave her a half-hearted wave as she waved exuberantly at him as she ran down the corridor, and then he shut the door to his laboratory with a little more force than was probably necessary. He glanced down at the flyer, and a hint of a smirk curved his lips upward when he saw his recipient. _Tatsumi. Perfect_. He just hoped that Tsuzuki hadn't gotten his name. After all, karma could be a bitch like that.

He tossed the paper onto his desk, and then dropped into the chair. 003 flew over and landed on his shoulder, and he idly stroked his finger against her feathers as he plotted and sulked. Wakaba's words played over and over in his mind, and as his anger ebbed, he found his gaze straying more and more frequently to the sheet of paper on his desk. "Pure science, eh?" he murmured, and the more he thought about it, the more enthusiasm he found he had for the project. After all, it wasn't every day he was afforded an opportunity to showcase his talents. Besides, as he saw it he would get one of two possible outcomes from this particular experiment, and both he found rather satisfactory. Either he would succeed in making Tatsumi squirm, or he would so completely and utterly fail at the task that he'd be banned from future participation. With a newfound appreciation for the assignment he'd been given, he grinned and started unbuttoning his lab coat with one hand while reaching for his jacket with the other. "Let's go home, 003. There's baking to be done!"

* * *

Two nights later, as he sat in front of his television and sampling his latest batch of cookies, he heard a knock at the door. Setting the empty plate aside, he went to answer it, his eyebrows arching in surprise when he saw Tatsumi. A wave of pleasure washed over him at the sight of his lover, only to be replaced by irritation a moment later. He was still _slightly_ peeved with him for forcing his participation. "What're you doing here?" he asked, and when he saw the slightly hurt expression quickly flash across Tatsumi's eyes, he told himself he was glad for it.

Tatsumi nudged his glasses up, once again his demeanour all business. "Wakaba got the impression that you were upset about this whole thing."

Watari crossed his arms. "She told you that?" he asked, surprised to think that the sweet shinigami would have gone tattling to Tatsumi.

Tatsumi shook his head. "No. But when I asked her if she'd had any problems, she seemed rather evasive when it came to you."

Watari shrugged. "Maybe I was at first, but I'm ok with it now. I just don't get why it changed to this." 

"I thought it would be better for morale to have something personal and handmade rather than have people shop for gifts."

"In other words, cost cutting." Watari couldn't help but roll his eyes. Tatsumi really could be a total Scrooge sometimes. His internal diatribe was interrupted by the sound of a buzzer. "Excuse me; my cookies will burn." Without another word he headed for the kitchen, leaving Tatsumi still standing outside on the porch.

The brunet frowned slightly as he stepped across the threshold and closed the door behind him. His gaze shifted to the closed door that divided the living room from the kitchen, and he sighed. Maybe Watari was all right with the exchange, but it was obvious that he was still angry with him. "Hey Watari?" he called, only to wrinkle his nose in disgust and make a face when he detected a very noxious, pungent odour in the air.

"Yeah, what?" Watari asked as he came out of the kitchen eating a cookie.

"What's that smell?"

"Smell? Oh!" Watari smiled. "It's my cookies."

"Your -- oh. Um, did you burn them?"

Watari looked offended. "No. They're perfect." He held the partially eaten one out for Tatsumi's inspection, revealing the crisp, golden brown texture.

Tatsumi looked puzzled. "They -- why do they smell like that?"

Watari shrugged. "I don't smell anything weird. Maybe you just aren't partial to the various components that make them up."

Tatsumi's eyes widened. "Components?" he asked hesitantly. 

"Yes."

Tatsumi paled slightly. He could distinctly smell natto, and something that reminded him of rotten cabbage. "You know that these are sweet cookies, right? And supposed to be for consumption?"

"Mmhmm," Watari replied as he took another bite. "They're perfectly edible." He smirked and his eyes narrowed in sadistic pleasure when he saw the horrified look on his lover's face. "Want one?" He made a point of taking another bite out of his cookie.

Tatsumi shook his head. "No, I've--I just ate. Thank you, though."

Watari nodded. "Suit yourself. Well, if there's nothing else you want, I guess I'd best get back to it. Exchange day is tomorrow and all."

"Watari, you--" Tatsumi saw the stubborn, defiant look in the ochre eyes, and he sighed softly. "All right. Just remember that these _are_ supposed to be an enjoyable gift for someone."

The blond arched a brow. "Oh don't worry, Tatsumi-san," he said coolly. "I fully understand the concept of this exchange. Just because these aren't 'traditional', it doesn't mean they're not going to be enjoyable."

Tatsumi gave him a small smile as he headed for the door. "For the giver or for the receiver?"

As Watari locked the door behind him, he smirked. Tatsumi was in for a surprise.

* * *

As teatime arrived, the office was buzzing with happy chatter. Konoe had, as promised, arranged for a substantial buffet for the occasion, and everyone was eating happily while they waited to exchange their treats with one another.

Watari slipped in late, and grabbed a couple of items off the luncheon table. Realizing he needed both of his hands for a moment, he stuffed a crab puff in his mouth, making sure that Tatsumi saw him put the silver wrapped octagonal box under the small, Charlie Brown-like tree. He nodded to him in greeting, and then went in search of Tsuzuki, his partner in snacking.

When the food and most of the drink had been consumed, Konoe called for everyone's attention, and then he began passing out the cookie parcels. Watari had definitely lucked out on the exchange - Wakaba had drawn his name, and she'd gifted him with a batch of dark chocolate dipped orange biscotti. He waited for Konoe to get to _his_ parcel, and he chuckled to himself when he saw the horror-struck expression on Tatsumi's face when he was given the box.

To Tatsumi's credit, he remained gracious as he opened the parcel, and as he lifted the lid his wince was barely noticeable. "Thank you," he said as he looked at Watari. "They look...um--"

"They're called 'Christmas Surprise Cookies'," Watari piped up, taking no small amount of delight in Tatsumi's discomfiture. "Try one! I know you'll love it."

Tatsumi's brief moment of shock quickly morphed to irritation as he glared daggers at Watari. "Oh, I'm still very full from tea," he said politely, trying to decline the suggestion.

"Oh, come on now, Tatsumi," Konoe interjected. "It's just one small cookie. Besides, everyone else tried theirs, and I think you should, too. _Especially_ since this project was your idea." His expression suggested that it was in Tatsumi's best interests not to argue. After all, Konoe's gift had been from Tsuzuki, and the chief had made sure to at least taste one of the gingerbread men lest he hurt the other's feelings.

Tatsumi pressed his lips into a thin line. "You are right, of course," he murmured. With everyone watching, Tatsumi lifted the cookie to his mouth and took a small bite. He closed his eyes expecting the worst, only to open them a moment later as a small, pleased smile settled on his face. "They're...good," he remarked.

Watari chuckled smugly. "Surprise." 

Once the last of the packages had been handed out, people began leaving to head home for the weekend. Watari was gathering up his things when Tatsumi stopped him. "Can we talk?" he asked, a rare note of contrition in the brunet's tone.

Watari arched a brow. "About?"

Tatsumi offered a small smile and nodded to the box in his hands. "These, for a start. The other night when I came over, you were just fooling around, weren't you?"

Watari studied the other carefully. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know what I smelled, and these don't smell like that."

The blond smirked. "Oh, believe me, the recipe uses natto and sauerkraut and a few other special ingredients."

Tatsumi frowned. "Impossible. I'm looking at these, and I see pieces of chocolate and dried cherries and almonds."

"Don't always believe your eyes, Tatsumi-san," Watari teased, and then he smiled gently. "Baking is a form of magic. The chef, in a sense, takes very common, ordinary ingredients and transforms them into something entirely different; something extraordinary. In a sense, it's almost like alchemy." He gave Tatsumi a teasing wink. "I just took it a step farther. Used proper alchemy. Natto and sauerkraut and tree bark became eggs and cherries and almonds in the final product." He reached into the box and selected a cookie from Tatsumi's stash and turned it over. "On my baking sheets, I drew the alchemical seals I needed for each cookie before I put the dough on it. You can see where the heat from the oven baked the alchemical array into the bottom."

Tatsumi snorted in amusement. "You're either completely brilliant or a total idiot to attempt something like that." He smiled. "Though, I suppose I should be grateful that you didn't try to slip one of your experimental potions into the mix."

"Who says I didn't?" Tatsumi's eyes widened, and Watari laughed. "I didn't. I swear it."

Tatsumi sighed softly. "The other night - are you still that angry with me?"

Watari shook his head. "No. Especially not now." He snickered. "It was fun watching you today. It more than made up for any resentment I might have felt."

"Thank you," Tatsumi said, and then he frowned slightly. "I think."

"Don't think too hard about it," Watari said, and then he smiled. "Why don't you come over for a drink? I've got a new wine I've been anxious to try." Watari's grin widened. He'd tell Tatsumi later what he'd made it from.


End file.
